scottamuss, Thanks. I'll go ahead and post it here... By the way, I feel soil quality is more important than water. Far too many gardeners over water. Take the time to learn that there is not a "cure all" for every pest at every stage of it's life cycle. Some won't work if it's going to rain. Some don't work well if it's too hot, etc. Pest management is complex, if you wish to use chemical products, do so responsibly which goes further than reading the label. If you want to learn, a good place to start is here: Integrated Pest Management This lecture is presented in two parts. Each part is 90-minutes in length. Recorded in Sacramento County in California's Sacramento Valley, this lecture is by Mary Louise Flint, Ph.D., Director, IPM Education and Publications, UC Statewide IPM Project and Extension Entomologist & Cooperative Extension Specialist. Education: B.S. Plant Science, University of California, Davis Ph.D. Entomology, University of California, Berkeley Appointment: 100% Cooperative Extension Research Interests: Integrated pest management of landscape, agricultural and garden pests; biological control of arthropod pests; alternatives to pesticides; adoption of alternative practices by practitioners; innovative delivery of pest management information. Topics discussed in the Integrated Pest Management Lecture: * IPM references and resources * Preventing pest problems * Natural common enemies * Making less toxic pesticide choices * Controlling aphids, scales, caterpillars, coddling moths, tree borers, snails and slugs, and lawn insects. You can watch the programs now online: Just make sure you have Real Player installed or download it free. Integrated Pest Management Part1 90 minutes Integrated Pest Management Part 2 90 minutes You'll want to bookmark the following link to Professor Flint's Lab Research on: Controlling Pests in Gardens and Landscapes: Vegetables and Melons I promise you'll learn one or two things to put in your gardening bag of pest management arsenals. ;) On Watering Some people want to customize the water for every plant. It's ambitious to try to give each plant the exact amount of water it needs but not practical or necessary. Even if someone gave you a chart, it would still depend on the quality and friability of your soil as well as the stage of the plant. So long as you have good drainage, the plants will take what water they need. General rule of thumb is that gardens require one inch of water per week by supplementing rainfall. You will have to adjust throughout the season and be attentive to the amount of rainfall you receive each week. There are two schools of thought on watering. Frequent shallow waterings or less frequent long, deep waterings. The general rule of thumb is that mature plants need 1-2 inches of rain per week in summer. You should provide whatever portion of this moisture is lacking. One inch of rain equals 65 gallons per 100 square feet of garden space. But this is just a guide. Time of the season, stage of the plants, soil composition, and many other factors affect the amount of water required. Be consistent during fruit production. Mulched plants require less water than plants that are not mulched. Raised beds require more than non-raised beds. If a good amount of compost is incorporated into the soil, less water is needed. Compost holds 6 times it's weight in water. Watering too frequently and too heavily is just as hard on plants as too little water. Roots require oxygen just as much as they require water and nutrients. Dry winds dehydrate plants. Cooler temps require less water. Those using drip irrigation whether from a soaker hose or milk jug are likely getting the best use of their water which is going right where it needs to go and the ground has time to absorb it. There are hundreds of methods of watering. Whatever you do, just be consistent. But I do agree, twice a day sounds like too much. Roots require oxygen equally as much as they require nutrients and water. I personally believe in a couple of deep waterings per week with the use of 2 inches of mulch to reduce evaporation and maintain a more stable soil temperature. Plants recover from dehydration much better then they ever recover from the roots being suffocated by drowning so under watering is better than over watering until you get the hang of it. Oxygen is equally as important as water and nutrients and rain water is always better than municipal tap water.

I just moved to the central coast of California, and there's a type of bird called a towhee that roots around in tangled bushes in my front yard. I really don't have a problem with that; but these pesky birds seem to take great delight in flipping decorative bark out of the planters and onto my driveway and into the street. I used my blower for the first time to get all the bark pieces back where they belonged, then I was gone for about one hour and returned to find an amazing amount of bark thrown back into the street and onto portions of my driveway. I might have to consider replacing the bark with rock; but is there any chemical repellant and can spray or otherwise distribute on the bushes these birds like to play in, so I can spend more time with yard maintenance other than cleaning up after these dang birds. I've never seen anything like it.

If you get early blight, or any other fungal or bacterial disease every year, then you need to take preventive measures. After having early and late blight savage my tomatoes last year, I'm taking some precautions this year, including: 1. Disease resistant varieties. I don't think any varieties are resistant to blight, but I still wanted resistance to other diseases. And if a plant is weakened by any disease, it will be more susceptible to blight. 2. Generous plant spacing for good air circulation. 3. Plastic mulch and soaker hoses to keep the foliage dry. 4. Pruning. I'm using two strategies. First, when the plants were about 3 1/2 feet tall, I removed all the leaves on the lower 12-14 inches of each plant, since these typically contract blight first. I sprayed all the fresh cuts with fungicide as a precaution. It may be coincidence, but the plants started to bloom heavily after the cutting, so maybe stressing the plants kicked them into the blooming phase. Secondly, I pinched off enough suckers to facilitate air circulation. My plants all have 2-4 main branches, but on the first 3 1/2 feet, my plants are open and airy. Above 4 feet, I quit pinching off suckers to form a foliage canopy that would shade the tomatoes. Of course the plants are sort of top-heavy, so I've got them well-supported. 5. Good fertility and consistent watering. Healthy plants that aren't water-stressed are less susceptible to disease. 6. Chemical prevention. I spray with the lowest recommended concentration of chemicals every 7-10 days, depending on rainfall. To prevent any resistant disease strains from taking hold, I'm alternating every two applications between a mancozeb + liquid copper mix, and a chlorothalonil + liquid copper mix. 7. Insect control. Insects are vectors for many diseases (not sure about blights), and they weaken the plant, increasing the risk of disease. I've only sprayed with BT so far, and have not observed any pests at all on my tomatoes. But if any insects do show up, they will rue the day they decided to feast on my plants. Insecticides on hand (in order of escalation): pyrethrins/rotenone, permethrin, and malathion. I tried using some neem earlier this summer, but suspected it stunted plant growth (and some research indicates it does partially block stomas), and it was nearly useless against an early aphid infestation of my beans. I've also got some carbaryl, but it seems to kill more beneficial insects than any other insecticide I've tried, so I treat it as a WMD of last resort.

" I would never kill an animal because it does what nature intended for it to do. " Termites. Fire ants. Africanized bees/wasps that come after people. On farms, coyotes and other predators that kill and eat the farmer's livestock. Anything a few feet away from me that is wanting to kill me, even if it is hungry and hasn't had it's dinner, if it plans that I'm going to be dinner. Noise doesn't bother me a whole lot because I'm hearing impaired. But there are many situations I can think of that I would kill animals who are simply acting naturally. Nature isn't fuzzy wuzzy all the time. Debby, I am not arguing with you, I can see you have your own perspective and I respect that. I'm just posting mine.